I can spot empty flattery and know exactly where I stand. But!

So i went to B. for their member double point sale on Sunday and Fukuyama san wasn't there. Some other random staff came to attend to me instead. And she sure has mastered the art of flattery. Now here i tell you, these are the ways to do so.

Compliment one's face.
She brought the two ¾ shorts I wanted to try into the changing room and while we were inside the room, she suddenly said oh, you're good looking. I quickly denied that apologetically(!) and being embarrassed by the unexpected flattery, could only gave her a little laugh before chasing her out of the room. My usual reaction would be to make a joke out of it to diffuse the attention and to change the topic :x But because i donno her at all, i couldn't do it! But i *think* she was being kind to say that in the privacy of a closed off room and not out front where other people can hear and subsequently cause me to die of awkwardness -__-

Make a reference to one's country and the apparent good complexion.
Miss HoneyMouth said So where are you from? Singapore? Ohhh. That explains why you have such nice skin. I was rolling my mind's eyes. Since when Singaporeans are known for our "good skin"????????? Personally, i think they have better complexion than us! Want to give praises also must think logically leh, lady.

Ask about one's age and act(?) surprised at the significantly youthful look when being revealed.
They have some chronic obsession with this. No kidding. Maybe all asians do? haha. I get this a lot so i could foresee where this was heading toward when she asked how old I am. She exclaimed Really?! But usually foreigners look older than their real ages when compared to japanese. And people say japanese are like little kids, childish. So… did she just insult me unwittingly? Or did she simply mean by their standard, i don't even look their age? which means even more kiddish. hmm in a way, this could be an insult!

PS: Today, the foreign student centre staff-in-charge told me that if i were to go 7-11 to buy cigarettes and alcohol (which i dont!) i would be requested to show my ID. Gawd. 大袈裟...

And this, takes the cake that shows it is all fluffy words of flattery:

Praise how well one speaks the language.
She said my japanese is better than hers! Bit over, no? Praising one's language proficiency is ok, for the effect of positive feedback to spur one to work harder. But not so exaggerated until like this! How can a foreigner be better than the average native speaker. you tell me -_- I know my weakness and limits lor.

Still, apparently, her flattery worked its magic on me even though i resisted it outwardly. Guess the inside was inflated a little. Because in the end, i went home with two bottoms and three tops —one T-shirt was for g— that day. And i even went back today to get a similar T-shirt for myself hahaha!

Dear 16-year-old Me

You want a tan? You think tanning is fun? Not only it gives you wrinkles, it gives you this!

And I find it very hard to do that.

This is really random, but how am i going to memorize three pieces by summer holiday ;_; I was, and still am, never good at memorizing notes. I'm so dead now.

To make this entry less short looking, here's a short half done video (actually more like audio) i recorded while practising last week. I know i suck but NO LAUGHING AT THE SCREWED UP PARTS! ><;

exploring@下北沢

Hopped down to shimokitazawa for a look look see see. A town on the western side of Tokyo, popular among young people and students, with its numerous cafes, unique fashion, 2nd hand shops and music outlets. Name too long? Just shorten it to "shimokita" as it is commonly referred to :D

Shimokitazawa is known as a trendsetting place for youth culture. With its many narrow alleys that are inaccessible to vehicles, you are given a real sense of adventure while exploring the town on foot, which is a real joy in and of itself. We had fun following the map and searching for the must-visit shops listed in the guide book. (i think i copied it from wiki or something. months ago!)


Feuille morte appetizer for you sir? Nah. Joudan.

The S words.

Bus drivers and train drivers in japan like to talk in ssSsSSSSsssSsSSs language. You know?

Like this: ohaygosssssssss. *mummers some ssss sounding incantations in between* goj'shsss arzamasssssssss. 

When they meant to say: ohayou gozaimasu *inserts canned phrases of announcements* gojousha arigatou gozaimasu.

Or.

This: *in a lazy and bored voice that mashes all the sounds together* tsug'waner'mkasssgacho. nrmak'ssgacho.

When it should be: tsugi wa nerima kasugachou. nerima kasugachou.

Yet another phenomenon: they speak so softly like they're trying to serenade us to sleep that it is barely audible over the roar of the running train. Not all trains or buses have recorded announcements or info screens okkkk! Granted, they might have been speaking the same old thing over and over again for days, months or even years that they become really sick of it.

But seriously, they slur their words too much! Sometimes important messages like an announcement for a delay in train or change in platform just become unintelligible. Oh wait. Maybe it's just because of my incompetence that I don't understand them! oh nossss. But but… It's not like they have a speech impediment like a lisp or because they are drunk (or are they?) :3

i seriously wonder if the day when every syllable bleeds into one another, will they all become Parselmouths.

Banal day.

And here's more boring everyday life pics from me =/

Too lazy to make any dinner yesterday. Hmm not yesterday.. the day before yesterday. Went to saboten to get takeaway!

本格的、夏

Today suddenly so hot!!! 31 degrees! Had to wear lesser :|
Already sweating like a fountain in the house after showering. How not to do so when outside?


Rather useless pic, but i'm down to two layers...

in the Land of Engrish.

I do love Engrish! They are so cute and funny and at times just simply wtf.
Do you like it too? Three of them, for your enjoyment :x

Seen at a changing room. Who??  What??

Almost sounds perfect as a 80s horror movie tagline.

I imagine I have to find a voice that i can hold in my hands.

 Help! Need: Voice and Staff Multiplier. 

Got to be good with multiplication tables too. 
What if there's like 92074634905 staff and 34045874997 voices going on?!

2PM HANDS UP

野獣アイドル!
Shot in sg?
Nichkhun <333 so cute! *fans*

Results.

I got back my practical exam results and the general remarks from the panel of six examiners was that i understood the composer's direction and was able to reproduce it. Rhythm was good. The sound was clear and clean, especially the top notes. Delicate and gentle, the overall tone was rich and it left a good impression. Middle portion had a "full vibrancy/ring" (whaaat?) to it and that gave an unexpected harmony to the sounds. Good to have added a twist to it (err….)

What was bad was the pedalling had some cloudiness at some points. And not enough dynamics (HAHA. i know. this has always been my problem). I told my sensei that the examiners were too lenient. Marks too high. And too kind with their comments. How is it was interesting to hear an unexpected emphasis of (different) harmony supposed to be valid when i am playing classical. Not self composed or jazz where i can have freer control of interpretation. And she readily agreed that they were indeed too lenient lol.

But she was quick to say that playing delicately is really my "merit". So i guess the other time the comments i gathered from my classmates had some truth to it. We had to play our pieces plus other random music on different occasions during some other classes, my classmate said she thought i played really nice unlike her. (even though i had so many wrong notes and stumbling all over the place?) And another one (THE GIRL.. maybe will write about her next time) said i played like her Poland one-to-one teacher: smoothly and gently. Unlike hers. She asked me how i did it. I have no idea. Her score had URUSAI!! (IT'S TOO LOUD!!) written all over the notes lol. But i swear when i am playing, it sounds very loud -too loud- and not-nice-ish to my ears. And because it's THE GIRL, everything she says has to be taken with a pinch of salt.

Of bags and udon.

Bought a new bag yesterday~~ A "ryukku" (from German for rucksack). My cheap furry one is not going to hold well with all the books —it is torn due to the weight and though i have already mended it— and carrying tote bag with tons of books really hurts my shoulder after a while =/ Plus i couldn't find The One at Uniqlo... So does that justify the purchase? :x The bag is quite big so it can double as a gym bag for my clothes and towels on top of (more like below) the books.

I really adore tartan patterns! But i must remember to not wear a top that has such designs when i'm using the bag or it will look really retarded :x Tartan overloaded. And i have quite a lot of shirts with tartan designs -_-;; Just like i have to remember not to wear my polka dots shirt when it's raining and when I want to use my polka dots umbrella.

RealKakkoii

Recently, i overheard some high sch girls chatting among themselves using this:

リアルXXX 

A new addition to the pool of 若者言葉 (young ppl's language)?!

リアル (riaru) is the way they pronounce the English word, real.
By inference, i believe this is used when they want to mean hontou in the proper language, or maji, yet another older, casual word. English's equivalent would be really. 

The phrase which i heard was リアルかっこいい (riaru kakkoii) which means really hot (guy), further abbreviated to just "RK" (pronounced "arukei"). One of those KY language. Like in phone messages or when they just want to be cryptic to annoy their parents lol.

You can mix and match riaru with other words too! Like kawaii (cute) or busaiku (ugly). Wait... won't that make RiaruKawaii "RK" too?

Have fun pointing out hot guys and whispering RK to your friends!

ｏｍｏｉｄｅ

急にみんなに会いたくてしょうがない...
一緒にチョコ飲む :x

The fujoshi look on her! <3

Daintily sipping the hot rich choco with my metal straw lol

i can sitz on nix lap.

I so wanna go back this summer holiday!! :<

渋谷へ

And it's shashin time again~ Rainy day today. I love the cold but not the water splashing on me =_= Headed to shibuya to get some stuff. I DISCOVERED A NEW WAY TO GO HOME. AND THIS NEW ROUTE HAS GOT SEATS TO ALMOST ALL THE WAY HOME. Woots. Don't understand why the trains here are so sleep inducing. Every time i get onto one, I'll feel so drowsy and just doze off, leaving everything i was doing to keep myself awake never ever completed. Be it half read books or games. I dont even get this effect while in sg. G says it's warm and nice, plus the seats are cushioned, so it makes us relaxed and wants to curl up for a nap. Meow~~ Well, when i am not getting sleepy, i've noticed almost everyone around me is in a state of peace (some have unsightly poses though). So i guess it's not just me!

 "Spicy" curry bread and apple cream. not spicy at all!

Didnt want to have bread again but it was raining and we were lazy to go further to get other food so bought from the vending machine :x

もぐもぐ食べよう

Lunch was at Lawson trying to grab something since we had almost two hours free. Smuggled in all the food we bought into the practice room to eat :x There were sooooooooo mannnny people buying lunch there, I was a little overwhelmed with the queue. っていうか、お店儲かるじゃん！ :DD

Rilakkuma honey (chewing) gum!

I think somebody likes this :9

Bought this 북어국 (fish soup) coz kinda ki ni naru about the taste... 

And it looked quite yummy.

Turned out it was really like neko manma (cat food) =_= 

Oreo lemon flavour and Collon cookies & cream! BERY NAISE.

The Mad Bang.

Yesterday I was asked if I knew a band known as "Bang Les".  
"They're famous, you know?" she said. "banguresu".
She went on to break it down: bangu as in (the way japanese pronounce) the english word bang. And resu.

Two hours later when i got back home, i found out it was supposed to be Bangles.

In the same vein, I woke up this morning to a twitter from roger asking, as a joke, whether I know "Mad Onna" (because i tweeted about it).

He didn't realise onna means woman in japanese.

What goes around me.

Picked up all my rubbish to throw them at the disposal point and saw this...

This was left behind inside the "shed". Trolley from the nearby supermarket. Since there are many foreigners living here.. i assumed.. it was left behind by some Korean? Chinese? or actually none of the above at all? Japanese?

What I did for love.

This song happened to be playing on the ipod when i was walking home…

I know Glee sang this before, but the broadway version still nicer. Not so much [modernish] pop sound and has more feeling. Though the movie version made it wrong. It was a song for the whole cast, asking them the question of what they would do, should the day come when all of them become unable to do the thing they love (ie to dance). It's not a song for one person.

It came at the perfect time when I was feeling very tired after a whole day and wondering what really i am doing here.



Maybe i will never be accomplished, but I hope i will never have any regrets.

Doraemon is...

A Felicola subrostratus robot?

I seriously do not see the resemblance though.

PRC strikes again.

pfah. Read this just now.
PRC man boasted about beating up a Malay Singaporean on new citizen forum

A 24 year old PRC man working in Singapore posted a potentially seditious comment in a new citizen forum for mainland Chinese living in Singapore which cast aspersions on the Malay community on 9 June 2011. (read entire post in Chinese here)

 The chinese forum included his apology.

不好意思   各位 我不针对任何人 写心情罢了 想不到竟然那么多人当真。。。我不会挑战任何极端 我只不过用文字发泄心情想不到竟然惹了这么多麻烦 。。。。。再次致歉  舆论是可怕的 我没做任何犯法的事  谢谢
  事实我们就是争执罢了 没有那么严重 现在见了面都会点头致意。。。。如果你说我挑战了新加坡法律 抱歉我没 我对新加坡警察和身边人们的印象还是很好， 新加坡警察帮助过我 教导过我 我周围的人更是给过我很大的帮助 我性格属于那种疾恶如愁 直来直去 所以心情郁闷就用文章来抒发心情 想不到引来这么多好事之人 我不针对任何人 人往往冲动总会犯傻   对大家造成负面的影响我深表歉意       对不起。。。。。。
    我向愤怒的你们致敬 我真不不了解新加坡的网络舆论  请大家不要仇视我了 因为有了法律才能约束我们，但是我不知不觉又触犯了法律 我真的很想就这么去死 给国人 给朋友 给家人 给你们丢脸   
    请大家不要再针对我了   每个人天天都是有压力的压力多了 爆发就失去冷静的大脑    对不起新加坡 对不起新加坡华人同胞 对不起新加坡马来同胞     我真的错了！！ 你们就给我一个认错的权利吧 ！
  我真的没动过手 只是生气时写的夸张了 警察来查问当事人就可以了 我们现在彼此都还很谦让 对于此帖我深表歉意  我真的不是那种赖皮的人  请大家给次机会帮忙传达下   我向所有愤怒的人鞠躬  我真的错了 因为我们都知道新加坡法律的威严   但是我真的不知道我破坏了它 请大家原谅我！！！
      我只是用文字发泄情绪 但是却伤害了你们 我真的该死啊

Using the moniker of 奈何惹尘埃, he described his experience of nearly knocking down a Malay Singaporean when he was doing his delivery on a particular day in a post titled “新加坡擒狗记“

“I was doing a delivery the other day when I nearly knocked down a malay xxx. It saw my vehicle approaching and yet did not give way, and after that still wanted to act cool, and kicked a few boxes off my rack. 

There is a saying, one can bear with shit, but can’t bear with rage. My pride then told me, this xxx is definitely looking for trouble, and I took my wooden stick and angrily storm out of my vehicle, and kicked his ‘bike’ off.” 

(那天下午运货差点撞了个，马来x，蛋子见车来不仅不让路，事后还故装潇洒！脚还贱起来了，一个后蹬蹄把哥货架上的几箱货给踢掉 俗话说屎可忍, 而火不可忍呢也，接着吾骄傲的自尊心告诉我，这x绝对是想找刺激, 吾愤怒的抄起木棒就跳下车，一脚踹飞他的车)

Instead of apologizing for causing an accident, the PRC man stormed out of his vehicle and beat the Malay man with a stick:

“He ran towards another man/boss and thought that he would be alright, I did not care and pressed him on the ground and held onto his throat and gave him a slap, and scolded him using a mixture of English, mandarin and my dialect.”

(他以为跑到他之主管面前就没事了，吾无视之，冲过去犹如按狗一样地一招喉轮落将其按倒在地，给了他一巴掌!用着中英文夹杂家乡话尽情的侮辱着这只x)

He ended his rant by calling Singaporeans “retards”:

“Those retards who want to act ‘garang’ , step forward., I come here not to be bullied or insulted — from a true noble Chinese with 5000 years of cultural baptism.”

(装B贩子们尽管站出来 告诉你们哥来新加坡不是当孙子的 是来求虐萩侮辱的- – 正宗的有着5000年中花民族洗礼的高贵的中国人)

According to his biodata posted on the forum, his surname is Zhou and is currently 24 years old. He is born in the city of Wei Hai in Shandong province in northern China.

Mr Zhou’s racist and derogatory comments were applauded by fellow PRC netizens in the forum.

正义神 wrote he really respect him for his ‘violence’: 兄弟你真牛！哥佩服你
Though some netizens advised him to cool down in case he got into trouble with the law, 奈何惹尘埃 retorted callously that he was not stressed a bit and if he is deported by the authorities, he will just say ‘bye bye’ to Singapore. (完全没压力= = 送走就对新加坡说拜拜)

In 2004, two Singaporean bloggers Nicholas Lim and Benjamin Koh were jailed for making racist remarks about the Malay community on their blogs.

Last year, three Singapore students from the Singapore Polytechnic were arrested by the police for making similar remarks about Indians on Facebook.

Singaporeans can take a snapshot of the post from the forum and lodge a police report against this PRC man for making seditious remarks which may disrupt racial harmony in Singapore.

a true noble Chinese with 5000 years of cultural baptism he says?
Then all the more he should be ashamed of himself. With so much history and culture in his DNA and yet still behave like a Neanderthal? It may be 5000 years, but he - and his bad stock of PRCs - did not pick the good qualities and discard the undesirables to improve their worth in this world; they only accumulated 5000 years of rubbish. 残念ですね。

daba dua daba jaba dua

This song. From a drama (every sunday night!)
It is very popular now.
The number of downloads for the full version even surpassed AKB48! (not that i'm a fan of AKB48 :x)
Why?? It is beyond me. 日本人よく分かんないよなぁ！



マル・マル・モリ・モリ　みんな　食べるよ～
ツル・ツル・テカ・テカ　明日も　晴れるかな～？

ムック(忘れ物すんなよ)

大きくなったら　お空に声が届くかな～？
いつまででも　いいっしょだよ～

マル・マル・モリ・モリ　みんな食べるよ～
ツル・ツル・テカ・テカ　明日も晴れるかな～？

悲しくて泣いていた　一人歩く帰り道
こんな時　ほんわかな
みんなに　会いたいな～

マル・マル・モリ・モリ
おまじないだよ
ツル・ツル・テカ・テカ
にっこり笑顔

12の34で　ゴマ塩さん
たくさんだと　おいしいね～

マル・マル・モリ・モリ
ぷかぷか　お風呂
つるつるぴかぴか
ゴシゴシブラシ

皆さんグッナイ　また明日
朝ご飯は　なんでしょね～？

ムック(お腹だして寝るなよ～)

ムック(よくできました)

行け！フクロウ！

Peektures time!

I love this chaba 2bai milk tea from 午後の紅茶! Find it very much nicer. Richer than the normal milk teas. More fragrant with the tea smell and taste. The jagariko on the left was because i wanted to have something salty LOL But nice, nevertheless.

さらりとした梅酒 Choya

Summer is a time to dress up in yukata.
Summer is a time to make your own 果実酒 (fruit liquor) or 梅酒 (umeshu)

Or... just buy ready made ones if you are too lazy to do so :D



Really like this new arrangement for choya's current umeshu ad! Lyrics and melody are so simple and effective, it just stays in your head.

Which reminds me that when i went dy last month, i asked for umeshu and they thought i wanted yomeishu -_-lol!! Totally forgot that it is more known by its brand (choya) instead of umeshu (plum wine) in singapore.

Kill that cigarette please!

냄새나! *cough* Think i am having an irritated throat and nose. Trying to scratch it out.

Why can't they ban smoking in more places -_- Gone for dinner at a yakitori place with classmates and there were so many people smoking that i almost choked to death. And not to mention the smell that sticks onto your hair and clothes tsk. Especially during cold seasons!! Must always remember not to wear coats/jackets/fur that seem to absorb tobacco smell and smoke easily... Very gross. It actually narrows down my choice of places to eat when i'm out because i will avoid entering places that has smoking section. Yes, even if they separated it with the non-smoking section - with a useless glass partition or air curtains -  the smell still lingers. Don't they know? Passive smokers kills more than your ordinary chimney addicts. Japan has like got the lowest health-conscious sense in the 1st world to reinforce the law -____-

Now I really have to be grateful to singapore's insight for banning smoking in air conditioned places and the recent years of extending it to clubs and pubs!!! After staying out so long, it made me realised we have been taking the clean air for granted :x

Do i dump it into the burnable, plastic or recyclable rubbish bin?!

OH NOSSSSSSSSSS.
My iphone earphones just died on me. Ikinari one side no sound. 死なれちゃだめだよおおぉ！
Need to get a new one. Should i just go to the apple store and get the same one, with volume control or something else?
What brand should i get? I don't like those in-ears one :3
GAH.
Perhaps it's time to visit TokyuHands or LOFT for some cute/nice earphones?
Or just go Yodobashi and grab something simple. Can use points to redeem too hehe.
Need recommendations now!

-_-
Disposing it is a problem =/

It's long and hard (to pronounce)

I was sitting in the train, thinking that this station that i past by has a really loooooong name.


牛込神楽坂駅
Ushigomekagurazaka eki
Nine syllables.
Nine moras.

Then I wondered what's the longest station (narrowing it down to trains only) name. I included the word for station (駅), but did not count it.

南阿蘇水の生まれる里白水高原駅
minami asomizu no umareru satohakusui kougen eki
in kumamoto prefecture
19 syllables.
22 moras.

which looks like this.

It really runs into the plains! Don't you feel like singing Sound of Music!?

Lohan says...

Taken when in sg, on a day out to accompany Lohan for her haircut... Thanks Lohan for making this beautiful bowl and plate for me :D Too bad i had to leave it in sg :x

Another day in the life of a foreigner.

Long entry ahead! Beware!
Hisashiburi ni shinjuku ni itta.
Which means something like... it's been a while since i had been to shinjuku. About 3 months? lolx

Mmm. The smell of shinjuku fills my nose. Different place has different smell and it evokes different memories. shinjuku has this unique smell that i associate it with, like how the fish smell permeates the air in tsukiji. kkk..

But before that, I was at school. Having exams. By some strange connection, landed myself a "job" for saxophone accompaniment and possibly a duo piece(?) written by the composing/arranging students who need people to play their music. Saw the following two pics in a mag. 

Latest softbank smap cm

Just out on tv! SMAP filming for softbank's commercial~ Not that I'm fan of them though... Just a thought, they have so much money eh. Can go MBS... I dont even get to go up ;_;

Merlion got changed to otousan (dad), the softbank mascot at the end LOL!!

And if you noticed... most, if not all, except SMAP are angmoh -_-
Where are the REAL singaporeans??????
Why???
You donno meh. Foreign Talents mah.
And why are the FW not in the commercial?
Norhhh. MBS lor. They built the MBS. It thus symbolises their presence.
Issue artfully shunted away :3
(Or perhaps, they are at the first floor boozing and boogieing away - bangla/tiong/whatever style - coz too ex to go up :x WHY BOSS NO GIVE THEM FREE ENTRANCE GO UP!)

Anyway... digressed too much. So who is otousan?

定期券の話し

 This is obviously not mine. But looks similar la. Just to show visuals.

Bought my season ticket for six months which cost me Y34, 730 (about SGD531). Woots.

Each single trip from my house to school and vice versa is Y310 (SGD4.70)

Assuming I go everyday, which i *should*, it will be:
Y310 x 2trips x 5days x 4weeks = Y12, 400/month

6 months would be 6 x Y12, 400 = Y74, 400 (about SGD1138)

So i will supposedly save Y39, 670!!!!

But factoring in the school holidays... I dont think I will be travelling so much leh. hmm..

And since this is valid only for the distance from home station to sch station on one particular train line, any other stations that i get off or on, or any other lines that i take, i still have to pay =/ But still good la, I predict that the one of the places that I will go most often is shinjuku, which three of its four stations are included in my covered stations :DDD I just have to avoid the main shinjuku station when i go. They are all connected to each other anyway =_=

I thought I have discovered a new route to travel home. Got me excited. Even went to try it. Walk from 春日 to 後楽園 (in the same station actually). travel to 池袋 and then take an express train to 練馬 before transferring back to my usual line to home. But it cost Y500!! and takes the same amount of time for non express trains. Chey. shall stick to the season ticket's route unless i want to go 池袋 :x

If this reads like a realllly boring entry, it's coz i'm just blabbering to myself.

Because I have nothing to say.

 Too tired to do anything. Am thankful that the supermarket extended its opening hours to 11pm instead of the usual 8 or 9 like every other places. Because of that I was able to do some late grocery shopping after school. yawns.

Dewa, sassoku desu ga, pic for the day desu.

Breakfast which i bought at masago. 

The fried rice onigiri is amazingly delicious!!
Must buy more next time :9

Many pictures tell a story. Sort of.

Haven't been writing anything because i'm to busy with school and exam :<
It gets really tiring after returning home and finishing my work. I don't even feel like making dinner or anything. Just eat outside =/

But here are some photos from the past few days! Taken with instagram. Doesn't everyone love looking at pics instead of read paragraphs after paragraphs of words?